Colin Jackson offended as his world record time is put in jeopardy

Colin Jackson is offended by new plans from European Athletics which could strip him of his world record.

The 50-year-old’s 1994 indoor 60 metre hurdles world record of 7.30 seconds is in jeopardy after proposals from European Athletics. All pre-2005 records could be rewritten under the new rules, which need to be ratified by governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

European Athletics announced on Monday that its ruling council had accepted a project team’s recommendations to overhaul the record lists and eliminate any doping doubts surrounding performances. It said it would now forward them to world governing body the IAAF “with the recommendation that the two organisations co-ordinate the implementation of new record ratification rules”.

Colin Jackson (Tony Marshall/Empics)

Just a thought.. they take my Euro record from Stuttgart 1993, means I have a gold medal and no performance time!! 🤷🏾‍♂️ #ridiculous

European Athletics taskforce chair Pierce O’Callaghan, who led the project, has apologised to those athletes who could lose legitimate records but Jackson is upset.

He told Press Association Sport: “What they’re saying is they don’t trust the performances of the majority of people before 2005. When they’re talking like that, and to me that’s what they’re saying, it’s really quite offensive when I’ve put so much time and effort into my career.

“You can never erase history. The athletes have a legacy which should stand unless they are guilty and are found doping. I’m still getting my brain around it.”

Jackson, who won 110m hurdles silver at the Seoul Olympics, also questioned where the punishments will stop.

I know, but I'd rather congrats someone beating them, than an administrator hitting the delete button 😞 But yes, I have the memories 😃

“I won the 110 metre hurdle world title in 1993 and broke the world record – that’s a European record which still stands, I will have a gold medal at a major championships but technically I won’t have a performance,” he added. “How does that work, am I going to have to send back my World Championship medal? It makes absolutely no sense. I don’t think they’ve really thought it through.”

Jackson set his 60m hurdles world record time in Sindelfingen, Germany, in 1994 and still remembers every detail of his race.

He said: “Merlene Ottey ran just before me and ran a sensational time of 6.97 seconds (in the 60m). She did her lap of honour, came past me and said ‘if you want to make the front cover tomorrow you have to do something special’.

“I was training with her at the time and I remember nailing the start and thinking ‘make no mistakes’. I crossed the line and I thought the clocked stopped at 7.38 seconds, instead of 7.28 seconds. It was rounded up to 7.30 seconds and I thought ‘okay, that’s pretty cool’. People have come close to it but not close enough and now it looks like it’ll be lifted off by a delete button on a laptop.”